Can't Fight This Feeling
by sirensong15
Summary: Toshiro and Karin finally meet again after many years. The more time they spend together, the more their feelings toward the other grows. Will they eventually tell each other, or will it be too late?
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Bleach. Tite Kubo does. **

Chapter 1- Dreams

_It's dark and cold and snowy, but the snow gives off enough of that soft glow so you can see. As far as the eye can see, it is that beautiful, snowy white. Then, as if the sun is rising, there is a light in the horizon, steadily getting brighter as the seconds pass by, until finally it is high in sky. The snow everywhere is rapidly starting to melt. The landscape suddenly changes into deep, rolling hills, and the water from the melting snow flows together in the bottom of one hill to form a large, beautiful lake. It reflects the light coming from the sun, shimmering on the top of the surface. _

'_Wow, this place is beautiful', thought the snowy-haired teen standing on the banks of the lake._

_Then, a lone figure appears in the distance. The teen slowly turns his head, his teal eyes now fixated on the figure. The figure slowly starts walking toward him with even steps. The figure is now close enough to where he can clearly see them, and as he starts to study his features, he realizes he is very wrong. The figure was not a male, but a woman, a very beautiful woman._

'_Beautiful doesn't even begin to describe her', the teen thought with a smile._

_The woman has long, midnight hair that is pulled out of her face into a pony tail, except for two, chin-length strands that frame her face. Her deep, dark gray eyes are almost black, and they shine with happiness. Her nose is the perfect size, not too big and not too small. Her lips were full and perfectly shaped, but were turned up in a smile. She has a smooth, slender neck that sits atop petite shoulders. Her breasts were average size, and her stomach was small. She has curves in all the right places; her hips were more pronounced than her stomach. She also has long, curvy, smooth-looking legs that have strong calf muscles. Even though she was wearing a typical shinigami uniform, he could easily see all of these features. _

'_This woman seems familiar somehow", he thought. 'I feel like I know her from somewhere.'_

_While he was trying to think of where he knew her from, the woman had slowly reached up to run her fingers through his thick, white hair. When he felt her fingers, his thoughts automatically stopped. His teal eyes widened, staring at her gray eyes with confusion. _

'_What's wrong? Don't you remember who I am?' the woman said with a hint of sadness in her voice. 'Well, if you don't remember, then maybe this will help', she said while slowly leaning towards his face. . . . . ._

Toshiro bolted awake in his bed, sweat running down his forehead. He looked around with wild eyes trying to take in his surroundings. Once he realized he was in his bedroom in the Soul Society, his breathing became more even and less erratic. He was slowly starting to recall his dream. He remembered the scenery, and the woman with the familiar face. He knew that he had met her before, but where? He knew it wasn't anyone in Seireitei or in the Shinigami Academy, so that meant that she must be from the real world.

'_The only people I have met in the real world are the Kurosakis, the people at Urahara's shop, and students from Ichigo's school. The girls there were pretty, but they weren't that beautiful.' _ It wasn't anyone from Urahara's shop either, of that he was certain.

'_Then that must mean it was one of the Kurosaki twins,' _he thought. '_Unless Yuzu dyed her hair, then it's not her. Then that only leaves Karin. But that couldn't be her, could it_?'

Could it?

**Hey everyone! I've been reading fanfiction for a while, but never created an account until just recently. I thought maybe it was time to try to write one myself. lol. Well, i hope that for the first chapter of my first story ever, it didn't suck too bad. Let me know what you think! **

**Until next time, **

**sirensong**


	2. Chapter 2- Realizations

**I don't own Bleach. Tite Kubo does.**

Chapter 2- Realizations

The next morning, the sunlight that was streaming into the room through the gap in the curtains was what woke Toshiro. He blinked his blurry, teal eyes a few times, trying to get them to focus. Once they were focused enough to make out his surroundings, he looked to the clock that was sitting beside his bed. He reached out, grabbed it, and pulled it close to his face so he could read it more clearly.

'_9:45', _he read in his mind. . . . "Wait a minute", he said aloud, "9:45! I'm late for work!"

He immediately bolted out of bed and ran toward the bathroom. He quickly started his usual morning routine (using the toilet, take a shower, brush his teeth, change clothes). After he was done with all those things, he looked in the mirror and tried to fix his unruly white hair. He ran his fingers through his hair in many places, finally managing to make it look decent. He left the bathroom, put on his shoes, grabbed Hyorinmaru and strapped it to his back as he hurried out the door of his house. He used shunpo to get to the tenth squad office as quickly as he could.

He was standing outside the office of squad ten, contemplating on how he should go in. '_I don't want Matsumoto to catch me coming in the office late', _he thought. _'I'm never late to work, and I never sleep late, even on the weekends. The only time I ever sleep late is if I stay in the office doing all of Matsumoto's paperwork that she neglects to do, which takes me all night most of the time. Well, I guess I'll just have to try to sneak in somehow.'_ With that in mind, he opened the front door of the office just enough to see.

'_Good, she's not here', _he thought after a quick look around. She wasn't there. Maybe he could just step inside, walk to his desk, and . . .

"Taicho!", Rangiku exclaimed as she saw him.

"Matsumoto! What are you doing here?" Toshiro shouted after he jumped three feet in the air.

"What do mean taicho? I work here just like you do", she said. "I'm sorry if I scared you taicho."

"You did not scare me, I was just surprised is all", he grumbled while walking to his desk.

"Deny it all you want taicho, but I scared you. Just admit it", she said with a smile as she watched him sit down.

"Whatever Matsumoto, just get to work", he said in an authoritative voice.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say taicho", she said while sitting down at her own desk.

After their conversation, things in the office became quiet as their daily routine unfolded. The only sounds to be heard were the shuffling of paper, the strokes of their brushes on the paper, and the occasional sighing from Rangiku. Time had passed, and Rangiku stated that it was time for lunch. She got up from her desk, and walked over to stand in front of Toshiro's.

"What is it, Matsumoto?" he asked without looking up from his work.

"I was just going to ask you the reason why you were late this morning, that's all", she said while watching sign a document. When he finished signing it, he put it in the corresponding pile and looked up at Rangiku.

"What if I was just late? There doesn't always have to be a reason you know", he said.

"Taicho, with all due respect, you and I both know that you are never late to anything", she said. "You never even sleep late on the weekends for goodness sake. Did something happen to you taicho?"

"No. Nothing happened to me. I must've missed my alarm is all", he said while looking down at another document in need of his signature. "Matsumoto, you can go to lunch now."

"Understood taicho", Rangiku said. "I'm meeting with Renji, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Momo, Rukia, and Ichigo. Do you want to come with us? It could be fun."

"No, I'm going to work through lunch. There's still so much paperwork that needs to be done. After your lunch break, you need to work hard to get all of yours done", said Toshiro.

"Alright, well if you change your mind you know where to find us", Rangiku said while walking out the door of the tenth squad office.

After Rangiku left, Toshiro returned to his work, all the while thinking of what she had said earlier. He realized that she was right. He was late for a reason.

'_It was because of that dream I had last night', _he thought. _'I slept so soundly after I went back to sleep. That dream must have calmed my nerves; I've been so stressed out lately because of work. I wonder if that is really what Karin looks like, or was it all a dream? It all seemed so real. I wish it was real. . . .'_

"Whoa, wait a minute. Did I really just think that?" he said to himself. He thought about it a little more, and he suddenly widened his eyes. There was only one thing going through his mind:

'_I wish it was real.' _

_._

_._

_._

About an hour had passed, and Rangiku entered the office. She closed the doors, sauntered over to the couch, and sat down.

"Just what do you think you're doing Matsumoto? Don't you have more work to do?" Toshiro asked with a frown marring his features.

"Now taicho, you know I always take a nap after lunch. Plus, I have to rest up for tonight", Rangiku said.

"Let me guess, you're going out drinking tonight?" he asked with a sigh. He put a hand to his forehead, trying not to get frustrated.

"No taicho, that's not it this time. A few of us are going on a mission to the world of the living later tonight", she stated in an even voice.

"Wait, what was that?" he said in a questioning voice while raising an eyebrow.

"A few of us are going on a mission to the world of the living later tonight. While all of us were walking to the cafeteria, we passed the suitaicho. He stopped us, informed us of the situation in Karakura town, and told us to leave tonight. Of course, we would've left earlier because of Ichigo, but before he left, the suitaicho asked me to invite you along as well", she said.

"What is the situation? And if Kurosaki is going, I don't see why I have to. He is the fifth squad taicho, after all", Toshiro stated while looking at Rangiku questioningly.

"Taicho, the situation in Karakura is not good I'm afraid. Powerful hollows, and even an arrancar or two have been reported to have caused destruction. Somehow though, they were defeated before they caused too much damage. The suitaicho wants us to go and defeat the remaining hollows and arrancars, and to see who it was that killed the others. He wants you to go because Ichigo just recently became a captain a few years ago. He wants make sure the situation is under control", she said.

"Oh I see. Well I guess I don't really have a choice then. So, what time are we leaving?"

"We are going to leave around seven. Oh, and we might be staying a few days, so bring clothes from the world of the living if you have them", she said before she fell asleep.

"Well, if I'm going to be away for a few days, I better get as much paperwork done as I can", he while picking up another document.

.

.

.

Around seven, all of Seireitei was quiet. There weren't many people walking around, save for the fifth squad taicho and fukutaicho, the sixth squad fukutaicho, the tenth squad taicho and fukutaicho, the third and fifth seat of squad eleven, and the fukutaicho of squad thirteen. They decided to gather on the hill overlooking Seireitei.

"Well, is everyone here? Are we ready to go depart to the world of the living?" asked Toshiro.

"Yeah, we're all here. But before we go, I have a favor to ask", Ichigo said. He then turned to his fukutaicho. "Momo, I hate to ask this, but will you stay here and look after the squad while I'm gone. I trust you the most."

"Sure taicho, whatever you think is best. I will look after the squad to the best of my ability", she said. As she was turning to leave, she looked to Toshiro. "Bye Shiro-chan", she said before walking toward Seireitei.

"That's Hitsugaya taicho to you", he half-shouted after her.

"Anyway, can we go now?" Renji and Ikkaku asked at the same time.

"Yeah, we can go now", Ichigo said while throwing down a pebble. The pebble disintegrated instantly, releasing a fine powder. The powder swirled in the air, and converged into a senkaimon gate about three feet above the ground.

"Ichigo, how did you do that?" Rangiku asked with curiosity.

"Hat and clogs gave it to me before I left. He just recently invented it, and told me not to tell anyone besides you guys about it. He said it might come in handy", he said. "Now, let's go!"

"Right!" everyone except Toshiro exclaimed. One by one, they all jumped through the gate, and once everyone was through, it closed behind them. While they were running, Toshiro stayed toward the back.

'_Now I'll see if that dream was true', _Toshiro thought with a smirk.

**Hey guys! I hope this chapter is okay. I might not be able to update until the weekend, so I hope this long chapter makes up for it! But we'll have to see what happens. And, I hate to say this, but I don't know Bleach as well as other animes (I would like to though!), so some of the terminology I might need help with. If I get it wrong, let me know and I'll correct it. As usual, review and tell me what you think!**

**Until next time, **

**sirensong**


	3. Chapter 3- Reunions

**Once again, I don't own Bleach. Tite Kubo does. **

Chapter 3- Reunions

They were running, at this point they had stopped keeping track how long, when they finally saw a light at the end. It was close, too.

"Finally, we're here!" Ichigo and Rangiku exclaimed.

"Hey, get a move on Ichigo. Quit moving so slow!" Renji shouted from his position behind him.

"Fine, pineapple-head! It's right up here, and I'm goin' through first!" Ichigo shouted back as he jumped through the gate. The others were right on his tail. When they stepped through the gate, they were transported to Urahara's basement. Ichigo saw the door leading to the shop, and he jumped up, followed closely by the others. Once they were in the shop, Ichigo looked around for Urahara.

"Yo, hat and clogs!" Ichigo shouted through the hands cupped around his mouth. "Where are you hiding?"

"Right here Ichigo. I'm surprised you haven't noticed me before now. I've been standing here the whole time", said Kisuke.

"You have not! You just got behind the counter, I swear!" Ichigo said.

"Well anyway, what brings all of you here? It certainly has been a while, hasn't it?" Kisuke said with a smile.

"Just get us all a gigai for us to use for the time being", Toshiro said, both his exhaustion and patience running thin.

"One moment, Hitsugaya taicho. I'll be right back", Kisuke said while walking toward the back of the store.

"Oh I do hope that my gigai is as beautiful as I am right now", Yumichika said with a dreamy look in his eye.

"Can it Yumichika. No one asked for your opinion anyway", Ichigo said sarcastically.

THUMP!

"Ow Rukia! What was that for?" Ichigo shouted while rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

"Ichigo, that was very rude, you moron! Apologize to him right now!" Rukia replied.

"No way! I shouldn't apologize for saying what the rest of us were thinking", Ichigo said while crossing his arms over his chest.

THWACK!

"Dammit Rukia! Stop hitting me!"

"No, not until you stop being a moron!"

"Why you little midget-"

"Okay, I have a gigai for everyone. You can each get the correct one now", Kisuke said while walking back behind the counter. Everyone went up one by one to receive their gigai, with Toshiro deciding to go last. When he made his way up to the counter, Kisuke eyed him with raised eyebrows.

"What is it Urahara?" Toshiro replied with a slightly irritated tone.

"Nothing really important, Hitsugaya taicho, it's just that you've grown since the last time I saw you", he said with a slight smile while handing Toshiro his gigai. "I had to make a few adjustments."

"Thanks, I guess", Toshiro said, reaching out to take his gigai.

It took about a minute for all of them to change into their correct gigai. It had been awhile since any of them had needed one, since before the end of the war with Aizen.

'_Wow, it really has been that long', Toshiro thought. 'Have things changed around here all that much I wonder?'_

Just then, a bone-chilling shriek was heard, causing all of them to simultaneously cover their ears. It kept getting louder and louder until it finally stopped.

"What was that?" Rangiku asked.

"It was a hollow, and pretty powerful one, too", Toshiro said.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go kill it!" Ikkaku shouted while raising his zanpakuto.

"Madarame is right. Let's move", Toshiro said while running out the door, the others following right behind. They ran down the street, searching in all different directions for the hollow. When they could finally see it over a few buildings, they used shunpo to close the remaining distance. It turns out that the hollow was in a soccer field, so it hadn't caused too much damage so far. What the shinigami didn't expect to see was someone already fighting the hollow, and they were winning from the looks of it. It appeared to be severely weakened; only a couple of more hits would finish it off.

"One last hit should do it if I put enough reiatsu in it", a female voice ahead of them said. She was fighting the hollow with nothing but a worn soccer ball. She dropped the ball on the ground in front of her, and poised to strike.

"Okay, here goes!" she shouted as she reared her right leg back and kicked the ball straight into the air. Once the ball was in the air, it started to glow a bright orange. The woman jumped into the air and round-house kicked the ball, sending it flying at inhuman speed toward the hollow. The ball hit the hollow directly in the center of its forehead, causing it to scream once more. The woman landed on the ground again facing the hollow. It started to disintegrate before her eyes. Once it completely disappeared, she stepped forward a few feet to retrieve her soccer ball. She palmed the ball while she turned around to face the shinigami.

"About time you got here Ichi-nii", the woman said. "I figured you would've gotten here sooner when you heard all these hollows were showing up here, but I guess you've just forgotten about us, haven't you?"

"Karin? Is that you?" Ichigo asked.

"No, I just talk like her and look like her", Karin said with a sarcastic tone, while at the same time slowly turning her frown into a small smirk.

"Well my bad I guess", Ichigo said while rubbing the back of his head and turning his eyes down. He would've said more, but Karin had run up and threw her arms around him.

"I missed you, Ichi-nii", Karin said while burying her face in his chest, so her words came out a little muffled.

"I've missed you too, shrimp", Ichigo said while giving her a tight hug. Once Ichigo let her go, she turned around to greet the others.

"Hey Rukia!" she said. She went up to the shorter woman and hugged her tightly.

"Hi Karin, it's been awhile hasn't it?" Rukia replied with a smile.

"Yeah it has, that's for sure", Karin said.

"Wow Karin, you've really grown up since the last time I saw you. You've gotten so beautiful!" Rangiku said. She then picked up Karin and gave her a crushing hug, officially giving her a reason not to reply.

"Um Rangiku, I think you're crushing her", Renji said.

"Oh, right, sorry about that", she said while letting go of Karin. She at least looked a little embarrassed.

"It's okay", she said while trying to catch her breath. "Thank you", she whispered to Renji. He just smiled and nodded back at her.

"Karin, these are some of my shinigami friends, Ikkaku and Yumichika" Ichigo gestured to each one individually. "They are both in squad eleven, and this is. . . "

"Toshiro!" she said while running toward him. Before he could react, she threw her arms around his neck, pulling his body tightly against hers. His eyes went wide, his arms frozen in mid air. He was thankful that it was dark, as he had a prominent blush on his cheeks. Before long, he decided to give in and hug her back, wrapping his arms around her waist. He rested his cheek against the side of her head, his nose in her hair.

'_Her hair smells wonderful', _he thought before she pulled away. _'And she looks exactly like she did in my dream, except she looks even more stunning in person.' _ A small smile slowly made its way onto his face, the first one in a long time. Of course, unbeknownst to him, a couple of people in their group took notice.

"Long time no see, huh Toshiro?" she asked him while pulling away, then looked at him intently.

"_Wow, he's changed since I last saw him, and he looks pretty good, too', _she thought with a smirk. '_Actually, better than good if you ask me. _She fully takes in his appearance. He had gotten taller, almost as tall as Ichigo. His hair is that same soft, snowy white. It's just a little bit longer now. His eyes are the same, beautiful teal; eyes someone could easily get lost in. His nose is the same as it was. His lips are full and smooth, but not so full that they stand out among his other features. His face has lost all traces of his baby fat, making his cheekbones more pronounced and his jaw more defined. His neck was muscled, and his shoulders were broad. When she was hugging him, she could tell his chest was sculpted and toned, and that his abs were rock hard. He also had long legs that were strong. She definitely approved, to say the least.

"Yes, it has been a long time", he said with a smirk after realizing she was gazing at him for quite a while. "Still playing soccer by the looks of it, too."

"You know it", she said in a playful tone while smiling at him.

'_She has a beautiful smile', _Toshiro thought.

"Did I miss something here?" Ichigo asked. "How do you two know each other?"

"Calm down Ichi-nii. Toshiro and I met when I was ten. He helped my soccer team win against the middle school kids, and when a hollow showed up, he saved me and my friends", Karin explained.

"Oh, well in that case, thank you for saving my sister, Toshiro," Ichigo said with sincerity.

"It was nothing," he said while looking back at Karin.

"So Ichi-nii, what are all of you doing here anyway?" she asked.

"We're here to investigate why all of these hollows are attacking, and who has been fighting them," Ichigo said. "But based on what we just saw, I'm guessing that it's you."

"Yup," Karin said.

"Well, that settles that. So how's Yuzu and Goat-chin doing?"

"Why don't you come and find out?" Karin asked with a smirk. "I'm sure Goat-chin won't mind if you guys stay, either."

"Wonderful. I was beginning to think that I would have to sleep on the nasty, ugly street!" Yumichika stated dramatically, flairing his hands in the air.

"Man Yumichika, you are such a drama queen. You're even worse than I am," Rangiku commented.

"That's saying a lot," Yumichika whispered to Ikkaku.

"I heard that!" Rangiku shouted.

"Anyway, we should get going. Yuzu's cooking dinner," Karin explained. "Since you all are staying, she'll probably have to cook more."

"Come on guys, it's this way," Ichigo cocked his head in the right direction before walking away, Rukia beside him. After the mention of food, Renji, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Rangiku followed close behind, leaving Toshiro and Karin bringing up the rear. It was a clear night, only the moon lighting their way. Just then, a chilly breeze was blowing. Toshiro looked beside him, and noticed Karin starting to shiver a little bit. He looked down at what she was wearing. She was wearing a t-shirt and shorts that came above her mid-thigh, giving him a good view of her legs.

'_She has gorgeous legs,' _he thought. '_I don't know why I never_ _noticed before_. _But with the wind blowing like this she must be freezing.'_

Without giving it a second thought, he slowed to a stop, popped in a soul candy, and popped out of his gigai. Karin, who noticed him stop, turned back toward him and gave him a questioning look. She saw him take off his haori, then jump back into his gigai. He then walked toward her, arm holding the haori outstretched.

'_What's he doing?' _Karin thought.

"Here, put this on," Toshiro said. He handed it to her, and looked at her with concern. "I saw you shivering, so I know you're cold. It's not much, but it should keep both your arms and legs warm."

"Thanks Toshiro," she said while slipping on the haori. Since it was sleeveless, she didn't put her arms through. Instead, she used her arms to wrap it around her body because it was too big for her.

"We should catch up with the others," he said to her.

"Yeah, you're right," she said. "Let's go."

As they were walking toward the Kurosaki household, they fell into a comfortable silence beside each other. Karin looked down at the haori he had given her. It still had some of his body heat, so it was keeping her warm. She smiled to herself, thinking how great it was that he was here. She didn't know if he had even remembered her from back then. She was glad that he had remembered.

'_Maybe he thought of me as much as I thought of him,' _she thought.

**Hey everyone! I know I said I probably wouldn't be able to update until the weekend, but I had some time, and I really wanted to write this part. Lol. I hope I didn't make anyone out of character too much. I really tried not to. The next chapter might not come until the weekend, cause of the holiday and what not. Happy Thanksgiving!**

**Until next time,**

**sirensong**


	4. Chapter 4- Rise

**I don't own Bleach. Tite Kubo does. Okay guys, I'm sorry for not updating this sooner, but I've been busier than I thought. Well anyway, on with the story!**

Chapter 4- Rise

Well, dinner was. . . interesting, to say the least. As soon as Yuzu put all the food on the table, all control was gone. The men, except Yumichika, were shoveling food in their mouths as fast as they possibly could. Ikkaku looked over at Ichigo, giving him a dirty look that said '_I can eat way more than you'. _Ichigo looked annoyed, and apparently the challenge was accepted, because he ate faster. Rangiku was also very occupied with her food. The only ones who were eating with something akin to manners were Yuzu, Karin, Rukia, and Toshiro; not that he didn't have a lot on his plate. He just ate in a more sophisticated manner.

After a few minutes, it seemed everyone had their fill. Ichigo, Renji, and Ikkaku all burped simultaneously, causing Rangiku to burst out laughing. Rukia just walked over to where they were sitting and hit Ichigo and Renji on the head with the back of her hand.

"Ow!" they both exclaimed at the same time.

"You had it coming," she said while walking away to sit with the other girls. They were sitting in the living room, relaxing after their meal. Karin turned on the tv, and started flipping the channels. She eventually stopped at one that had just started playing a new movie, Zombieland.

"Heck yeah!" she shouted. "I love this movie! It's so hilarious!"

At this, the guys, who were still chatting at the table, started to get up and walk into the living room. Isshin left to do some work. Yumichika and Ikkaku plopped down on either side of Rangiku. Ichigo went to sit next to Rukia, and Renji decided to sit next to him. This, of course, left only one seat, and it was beside Karin, who was sitting beside her twin. Toshiro made his way over and sat down quietly. Karin was too engrossed in the movie to notice, until Ichigo decided to interrupt her.

"Oi! Karin! What's this movie about anyway?" he asked her.

"Don't tell me you've never seen this movie, Ichi-nii?" she asked while giving him a disbelieving look. "Well anyway, it's got zombies in it. That's all you need to know."

Ichigo just shrugged in response. Just then, the main character, named Columbus, shot a zombie twice, effectively killing him.

"That was awesome!" Ikkaku and Renji shouted. Rangiku laughed, and Yumichika looked repulsed at the sight of the blood splattering everywhere on screen. Yuzu had the same expression on her face. Ichigo, Rukia, and Karin cheered on with the others, while Toshiro sat silently watching.

About an hour and a half had passed, and the movie ended. Rangiku looked as if she was about to fall asleep. Yumichika and Yuzu were close to sleep as well.

"Hey, Ichigo, where are we all going to sleep?" Renji asked.

"That's a good question," he said. "Hmm, let's see. I guess Rangiku and Rukia could sleep in Karin and Yuzu's room. And I guess you guys could sleep in my room, but there's gonna be five of us in there, so it'll be pretty cramped in there." He said the last part with a slight frown.

"I'll just sleep on the roof," Toshiro finally spoke up. Everyone turned to look at him after he said that.

"Taicho, that's ridiculous," Rangiku said sleepily.

"Yeah, Toshiro, if you don't want to sleep there, you can just sleep down here on the couch," Ichigo said looking at him.

"That's Hitsugaya- taicho," Toshiro said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he replied in a sarcastic tone.

"It's okay to loosen up, ya know," Karin said while nudging him in the ribs with her elbow. As soon as her elbow touched his left side, they each felt a jolt run through their bodies. Karin and Toshiro's eyes both widened, and they looked up to meet the other's eyes. As soon as they did, however, they looked away quickly, small blushes on each of their cheeks.

'_That was weird,' _Karin thought with a small smile.

'_What was that?' _Toshiro thought at the same time. He ran a hand through his hair while he was thinking, trying to rationalize the situation. Rangiku and Rukia both noticed the exchange, and looked at each other with a mysterious smile.

"Well, I'm going to bed," Rangiku stood and yawned. When she did, it seemed that her actions caused the others to realize their exhaustion as well.

"Yeah, I hear ya there. Good night everyone," Renji said while walking toward the stairs. Ikkaku, Yumichika, Ichigo, Rukia, and Rangiku all followed soon after, each going to the correct room. Toshiro had already laid down on the couch, making himself comfortable. Karin made to go upstairs as well, but was stopped when she felt a hand around her arm. She looked back, and saw that Yuzu was looking at her expectantly.

"What is it, Yuzu?" Karin whispered.

She held up one finger, signaling Karin to wait a minute, before she went to the hall closet. She reached up on one of the shelves and pulled down a blanket. Yuzu walked back to where Karin was standing, and put the blanket in her hand.

"What's this for?" Karin asked her quietly.

"Give it to Toshiro-kun for me," Yuzu whispered back. "He might get cold during the night."

'_I highly doubt that. He does have an ice zanpakuto,' _Karin thought. She knew this well, as he saved her and her friends from that hollow all those years ago. At the same time, she knew that her twin would not leave her alone if she didn't give Toshiro the blanket anyway.

"Alright, I'll give it to him," she said while looking in Yuzu's direction.

"Thank you," Yuzu said while walking toward the stairs. "Good night, Karin-chan," she said before disappearing up the stairs.

Karin looked at the blanket in her hands, as if making sure it was still there, which it was. She then walked over toward the couch, but approached it from the back, trying to be as quiet as possible. She slowly brought her head over the edge, attempting to be sneaky. Her dark gray eyes met teal ones.

"What are you doing?" Toshiro asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry, I was trying not to wake you up, but I guess that was stupid because I did anyway," she said, scratching the back of her head and looking anywhere but at his eyes.

"You didn't wake me up, so don't worry so much," he said, trying to look her in the eyes so she could see the truth in his gaze. Eventually, when neither one spoke after that, she slowly turned her gaze back onto his eyes, and what she saw made her realize that he had spoken the truth. He really had been awake all this time. She looked down to her hand that was hidden from his view, the one that held the blanket.

"Here, this is for you," Karin said while raising her arm, tossing the blanket in his lap. He looked down at it, a surprised look on his face. When he looked at her questioningly, she replied, "You might get cold."

"We both know that's not very likely," he said with a small smirk adorning his face. "But thank you." He looked up at her, eyes shining with sincerity. When she noticed how intently he was looking at her, Karin looked down, a light pink warming her cheeks.

"You're welcome," she said while walking toward the stairs. "Good night, Toshiro."

When it seemed that he wouldn't reply, she began to climb the stairs. She only climbed about five stairs when she heard him speak.

"Good night, Karin," he said, his voice started to get deeper, as he was close to sleep.

She smiled to herself, and walked the rest of the way to her room, intent on getting a good night's sleep.

* * *

_She is standing in the middle of a lush, green field that is made up of rolling hills. She starts walking, smiling as she feels the softness of the grass on her bare feet. After a few minutes of walking, she sees a beautiful lake, shimmering along the surface, reflecting the light from the brilliant sun above._

'_Where am I?' she thought. 'I feel like I've been here before.'_

'_That's because you have,' an unknown voice spoke._

'_Who are you? And where are you?' she asked the voice. _

'_I'm over here,' the voice said. The girl turned her head to the right, and just beyond the horizon, she saw a figure but could barely make it out. As the figure became visible, the girl realized the figure was not a person. It was a horse, more specifically a pegasus, its wings folded on its sides. Her eyes widened, but it was not the sight of the pegasus that made her do this. No, the reason for the girl's shocked face was the pegasus seemed to be on fire, more specifically made of fire. The pegasus walked directly up to the girl, so they could properly see each other. _

'_Who are you?' the girl asked again. _

'_I am a part of your soul,' the pegasus replied simply._

'_A part of my soul? What does that mean?' she asked curiously._

'_It means that I am a part of you, and have been since you were born. You just haven't been able to hear me until now. But as hard-headed as you are, it's not very surprising,' the pegasus said, shaking its head, letting its mane of flames catch the wind. It also ruffled its wings a little. _

'_And what's that supposed to mean? Are you trying to say I'm stupid or something?' the girl said, a hint of anger in her voice._

'_No, that's not what I'm trying to say at all. You just need to listen better is all,' the pegasus said with a sarcastic tone. 'But then again, since we are the same, I have that problem too. And I do love sarcasm oh so much,' the last part was said with a hint of slight laughter. _

'_So do I get to know your name or what?' the girl asked in an annoyed tone, getting impatient._

'_I'm not going to answer a stupid question like that. You should already know my name.' With that, the flaming pegasus turned around and started walking away, the flames on its hooves never burning the landscape._

'_Wait!' the girl shouted back. The pegasus ignored her and kept walking, eventually becoming out of sight._

* * *

Karin jolted awake, and looked around in a hurry. It was still dark outside, and the others were still asleep. She realized her throat was extremely dry, so got out of bed as quietly as she could, and left her room. She made her way past Ichigo's room, and she could hear the snoring from the hallway.

'_Idiots,' _she thought while going down the stairs. Once she was almost down, she tripped over last step, and fell on the ground. She wasn't hurt, but the fall made more noise than she hoped it would. Hoping she didn't wake Toshiro, she walked over and peered down at him. He was still asleep, as evident by his shut eyes, and his chest rising and falling with his even breathing. His face was relaxed, the usual scowl or frown gone.

'_He looks so peaceful when he's asleep,' _she thought as she looked as his face. Her eyes roamed over his sleeping form, appreciating that she got to see the peaceful side of him. His hair was messed up, some falling in his face and across his closed eyes. Without thinking, Karin gently brushed the hair away from his eyes. He unconsciously leaned his head into the touch. Karin pulled her hand away, after realizing what she'd done.

'_What am I doing?' _she thought. She decided it would be best if she walked away, lest something else happened that could wake him remembered why she came downstairs, and went to the kitchen. Once she got a glass of water, she went back upstairs, glancing at Toshiro momentarily. She got back in her bed, and tried to go back to sleep, but sleep didn't come for a while.

Karin awoke from the light shining in through the window, and from the talking she heard from Yuzu, Rangiku, and Rukia. She rubbed her eyes, trying to see clearly.

"Oh, good morning, Karin-chan. We were just about to wake you up," Yuzu said in a cheerful voice.

"Why?" Karin asked, her voice still clouded from sleep.

"We were going downstairs to make breakfast, of course," Yuzu replied.

"Oh, well I'll come if I have to," Karin said while getting out of bed, following the others out the door. The girls heard loud snores coming from the guys' room, and immediately started to laugh. Rangiku and Rukia laughed the hardest, so Karin and Yuzu urged them to go downstairs so as not to wake them up. Once downstairs, the girls went to the kitchen, where they helped Yuzu get the ingredients she needed to cook with. It was then they heard a yawn, and the other three went to investigate the source of the noise. It was Toshiro, who was slowly standing up. He was stretching his legs, then flexed his arms over his head, lacing his fingers together. Since he was wearing a white tank top, the muscles in his arms were clearly visible. Karin turned a dark shade of red when she saw this, and turned her head away. Rangiku nudged Rukia, who nodded her head in a silent agreement.

"Good morning, taicho!" Rangiku said brightly, causing Toshiro to jump slightly.

"Must you be so loud this early in the morning, Matsumoto?" he questioned her with an annoyed tone.

"Sorry, taicho," she said, though she was still smiling at him.

"Whatever," he replied while shrugging his shoulders.

Soon enough, the delicious smell of Yuzu's cooking wafted through the house, and upstairs the guys started to wake. They came down the stairs, still looking tired.

"Well, look who decided to wake up this morning," Rukia said in a chipper but sarcastic tone. Rangiku and Karin were trying to hold back their laughter, hands over their mouths. But Karin got over the laughing fit first, and put her hand down.

"It's a wonder any of you could sleep at all, what with all the racket going on all night," Karin said, laughing when she finished. Yuzu, Rangiku, and Rukia all simultaneously burst out laughing, and had to hold their sides because they were laughing so hard. Renji, Ichigo, and Ikkaku all crossed their arms and looked down at the floor.

"Well, it wasn't me, that's for sure," Yumichika said with a 'they-did-it' voice.

"Oi! Who asked you anyway?" Ikkaku said while looking his way. His voice was starting to get louder.

"With all that obnoxious noise, I had trouble getting all the sleep I need to stay beautiful," he said, managing to sound devastated.

"It was all Ichigo! He snores like he's sawing logs!" Ikkaku said loudly, pointing his finger in Ichigo's chest. Ichigo looked down at the finger with a deep scowl on his face.

"As if! It was all you! You sound like some sort of blow horn or something!" Ichigo shouted back. "And don't you touch me!"

"I can touch whoever I want to, especially when they're wrong!" Ikkaku said.

"Oh yeah? Well bring it on!" Ichigo replied, using his height as an advantage.

"Let's do this!" Ikkaku shouted with the eagerness for a fight.

"Alright, enough guys," Renji said, placing a hand on each of their chests. Ichigo and Ikkaku paid him no mind, and started throwing punches at one another. They barely missed hitting Renji's head, but then both threw a punch at the same time. Somehow they both missed, and ended up hitting Renji hard enough to knock him into the opposite wall. Once they both realized that he was no longer between them, Ichigo and Ikkaku grabbed each other's shirts in one hand, while continuing to throw punches with the other.

Standing across from them, the others looked on with different reactions. Rangiku was laughing, Rukia looked unsurprised, Yumichika looked bored, Yuzu looked concerned, and Karin looked like she was about to laugh at the sheer stupidity of the situation. Toshiro was getting very annoyed with the shouting, especially since he just woke up not too long ago. He concluded that the only way the two idiots would stop fighting would be for him to intervene. His teal eyes started to glow, as he was increasing his reiatsu. The temperature immediately dropped to freezing level, making the others shiver, and Ichigo and Ikkaku stop fighting.

"Why did it get so cold in here?" Yuzu asked while holding her arms closer to her body for warmth. Once he saw that they had stopped finally, Toshiro stopped manipulating the temperature, the room starting to warm up again. Karin looked over at him, as he was the only one who wasn't shivering. She saw his eyes were returning to their normal shade, and the room temperature was normal again.

'_I should have known it was him_,' Karin thought. '_He can control ice and water, so it makes sense. I wish I could do something like that.'_

'**You can**,' a voice said in her head. '**You just don't know how to yet**.'

Karin thought the voice sounded familiar, like she had heard it from somewhere before. She immediately realized that she did, in fact, know that voice. It was the voice that belonged to the pegasus she saw in her dream last night.

'_I can?'_ Karin thought, answering the voice. She waited a few seconds for the voice to reply, but one never came.

"What was that for, taicho?" Rangiku asked Toshiro.

"To get those two to stop fighting, obviously," he replied in a bored tone. "Anyway, we should eat." He walked into the kitchen. The rest of the group glanced at one another, then followed him. This meal was definitely calmer. Everyone was basically silent after the fight earlier. That is, until Karin glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Oh crap!" she shouted suddenly, already getting out of her chair.

"What is it, Karin-chan?" Yuzu asked worriedly.

"We're about to be late for school, that's what!" she replied to her twin. Yuzu looked up at the clock as well, and discovered that Karin was right. She and Karin dropped their plates in the sink before running up the stairs.

"How could I have been so careless? I completely forgot they had school," Rukia said, mostly to herself, but at the same time loud enough for everyone to hear it.

"Don't beat yourself up over it Rukia," Renji said between bites. "You just haven't been in so long that you forgot about it. No big deal."

"I suppose you're right," Rukia said, looking down at her plate in thought. About two minutes later, both twins came down the stairs in matching school uniforms, though instead of a skirt, Karin wore pants.

"Karin, are those my pants?" Ichigo asked her after a quick glance at his sister.

"They were, but since you didn't need the anymore, I made some adjustments so they would fit better," she quickly explained while putting on her shoes. Once she had them on, she turned to her twin.

"Come on Yuzu, let's go," Karin said while grabbing both hers and Yuzu's backpacks from their place beside the door. She left first, sending a wave to her brother and the others before disappearing through the door.

"Bye, everyone!" Yuzu said, walking out the door.

"Well Rukia, what do you say to a little shopping?" Rangiku said, turning to the other woman with a smile.

"Sure, sounds fun," Rukia said, smiling back at the other woman brightly. Before she knew what happened, however, she was out of her chair and being dragged up the stairs by the taller woman. "What are you doing?" she asked her.

"We're going to get ready, of course!" Rangiku replied happily. She finished dragging Rukia up the stairs and to their room, and shoved her in and shut the door.

The guys looked around at one another, as if trying to decide what just happened. Eventually, Ichigo broke the silence.

"Well, since they're going shopping, you guys wanna hang out?" Ichigo asked, looking at each one of them in turn. Ikkaku, Renji, and Yumichika all nodded their heads in approval. Toshiro just stared back at him for a while.

"So, how bout it, Toshiro? You in?" Ichigo asked him.

"That's Hitsugaya-taicho to you," he said in an irritated tone. "And no, I will not be accompanying you. I'll be scouting the area today."

"Suit yourself," Ichigo replied. "Come on guys, let's get changed so we can leave."

He walked upstairs, and the other three followed his lead. Toshiro just sat down on the couch. About fifteen minutes went by, and both the girls and the guys came downstairs. They said their goodbyes, and left. Toshiro looked around, and was suddenly glad for the silence.

* * *

School had just let out for the day, and Karin couldn't have been more relieved. She and Yuzu were walking home together, as soccer practice had been cancelled for the afternoon.

'_Thank god it's Friday_,' Karin thought. '_I didn't think it would ever end; good thing I don't have to go back 'til Monday.' _ She suddenly had a bad feeling, almost like she could feel something bad was about to happen. Just as she was about to consider what could go wrong, the answer appeared. It was a hollow, and a pretty massive one, too. Its body resembled some sort of bear, while its face was the creepy white masks most hollows had. It seemed to pick up on Karin's high reiatsu, because it soon made its way over to where she and Yuzu stood, and looked down at them hungrily.

The hollow made swipe at them with its claws, and Karin moved Yuzu out of the way just in time. When Karin looked up, she saw that the hollow was about to strike again, but hesitated for a moment.

"What do you want?" Karin shouted at the hollow while helping Yuzu get off the ground.

"That's easy. I'm really very hungry, and only eating something with a high reiatsu like yours will help," the hollow said in a high, screeching voice.

"Well you can forget it! It's not going to happen!" Karin shouted back up at the hollow, her voice angry. She then turned to Yuzu, taking her arm in her hand, and dragged her behind her.

"Come on, we can't let that thing catch up to us!" Karin said. Yuzu looked back at the hollow and nodded. She had gained enough reiatsu over the past few years to be able to see hollows, but not to fight them like Karin and Ichigo. They continued to run, the hollow following closely behind them. They eventually came to a deserted park, and Karin turned to face the hollow.

"Karin, what are you doing?" Yuzu asked her sister worriedly. "Let's just run back to the house and get Ichi-nii and his friends to take care of it." She tried to pull Karin in the direction of their house, but Karin wouldn't budge.

"No, Yuzu. I can't let this hollow cause more damage than its already done while chasing after us. I have to stop it," Karin was with a voice of sincerity and conviction. She turned to face Yuzu, and spoke again. "You go ahead and run to the house to warn Ichi-nii, and I'll hold it off here."

Yuzu looked at her sister, and she felt proud of her. Karin was helping save the people of their town, without any sort of recognition. She was proud that she knew the truth. She gave one last glance at Karin, and started heading in the direction of Kurosaki Clinic. Unfortunately, the hollow saw her, and, realized what she was about to do, stepped quickly and snatched her from the ground. The hollow's grip was rather tight, and Yuzu let out a small scream of pain.

"Let her go! Now!" Karin shouted at the hollow, worried for her twin. She was getting angrier and angrier with each passing second.

"And why would I do that?" the hollow replied. "I just got my meal, and I'm not going to give it up. In fact, I should have a taste right now." The hollow moved one of its claws near Yuzu's skin. She screamed and struggled in vain to get out of its grasp.

"Don't you touch her!" Karin shouted, "I'm the one you want! I have way more reiatsu than she does!"

"That may be so, but this one will do nicely," the hollow said while stabbing Yuzu in the left arm with its claw, blood spilling from the wound. She screamed much louder this time, as she was seriously injured. Karin looked up at the hollow, her face contorted in utter rage. It was at that moment that Ichigo and the rest of the shinigami arrived, each out of their gigai. They each looked at the hollow that was holding Yuzu with anger.

"What the hell happened?" Ichigo shouted. "What do you want with my sister?"

"Fine, I'll answer you. I was looking for a meal, when I stumbled upon these two. They had higher reiatsu than the other humans, so I began hunting them, and the rest you should be able to gather for yourself," the hollow replied with a sneer.

'_I have to save my sister,'_ Karin thought. '_It's my fault that she got hurt. If I'm going to defeat that hollow, I'm going to need more power than what I have.'_

'**Only if we work together will Yuzu be saved. You can use my strength to help you,' **the pegasus said, voice hard and serious.

'_But how?' _Karin thought. '_I don't even have a weapon to fight with.'_

'**When you are ready to fight, imagine my spirit, and you shall have a weapon that represents me.'**

Karin returned from her thoughts right after Ichigo learned what happened. He was livid, and was about to charge in, when a hand stopped him. He looked back, and saw that it was Karin, a look of pure rage on her face.

"What are you doing, Karin?" Ichigo asked through gritted teeth.

"Back off, Ichi-nii. He's mine." Karin said.

"But Karin-"

"But nothing. Yuzu got hurt because of me. I have to save her, not you," she said while looking at the hollow. She started to walk towards it, and expected Ichigo to stop her. He didn't. He just nodded, and she continued walking forward. She stopped a few steps later.

"What are you going to do, little girl? Do you plan to fight me?" the hollow taunted. "You don't even have a weapon."

'_Not yet, but I will,'_ Karin thought. '_Imagine its spirit_. . .'

She began to think of the last time she dreamt of the pegasus, trying to recall every detail of its appearance, from its glowing yellow eyes to its flaming mane, tail, and wings. Karin started to feel heat in her right palm, and it was steadily getting hotter, but it didn't burn. She looked down at her hand, and all at once a flame erupted in her palm, and it grew about three and half feet in front of her before it stopped. In her hand was a plain katana, the only features that were different were the hilt and guard. The guard had six steel points that went parallel with the ground, and the hilt was not just one color like normal. It was red where it met the guard, but faded to orange, then to yellow at the end of the sword.

'_Whoa, so that's what a zanpakuto looks like,' _Karin thought. '_But I don't feel a difference in power yet. What do I have to do to release it?'_

'**You have to say my name to release me,'** the pegasus said.

'_But I don't know your name,' _Karin thought as a reply.

'**Yes you do. You have known me since you were born, but you could not hear me until now. Search inside yourself, and you will know who I am.'**

Karin paused for a moment, absorbing this information. She surmised that she should follow the spirit's advice, and she searched all her memories and her soul to see if she knew its identity. After a few moments, she stopped, because she realized that she did indeed know its name. She gripped her weapon tighter, taking a fighting stance, and held the sword out in front of her.

"Charge, Kasaitenba!" Karin shouted, her body glowing from her reiatsu and her zanpakuto's power. The sword immediately transformed, the blade curving upward until it resembled a dao sword. The top half of the blade became a glossy, midnight black, and the bottom turned pure white. Between the two halves, as if separating them, was a thin, blood red line. The guard and the hilt remained the same as they were in its unreleased state. The end of sword, instead of being bare, had a grown a medium-length chain that was the same gray steel of the guard. In its released state, it looked very lethal.

"So the little girl has a new sword, big deal," the hollow said in a teasing tone. "How do you ever hope to defeat me?" It started laughing an evil, creepy laugh.

"Let's see how badly you can burn for what you did to my sister," Karin said, voice taking on a vengeful tone. "Soar on fiery wings, Kasaitenba!"

While Karin was uttering the last command, the sword erupted in flames once again. Once she finished, she turned the sword until it was horizontal, and swiped the sword through the air. The fire swirled off the blade, and converged to form the pegasus from Karin's dream. It opened its blazing wings, and started to fly toward the hollow. It was also running while it was flying to gain speed, and left a trail of flames behind it. Karin was controlling it with her sword, and made a swipe to her right, causing Kasaitenba to fly to the right, the hollow's side its target. Karin knew she couldn't attack it from the front, as she might accidentally injure Yuzu more than she already was. When Kasaitenba struck its side, the hollow started to catch fire, and it screamed loudly. It loosened its grip on Yuzu, almost dropping her, but tightened its grip at the last second.

'_There's only one way to save Yuzu,' _Karin thought. '_I have to fight it up close, because when I strike it again, it will probably drop her. I have to catch her, but I have to be fast. I wonder. . .'_

Karin swiped the sword above her head in a circle, causing Kasaitenba to turn around and fly toward her. Karin realized that she would need two swords, since she had to control the pegasus with one sword. She put both hands on the hilt, and started to pull. At first, it didn't seem like the zanpakuto would budge, but then it started glowing. She pulled harder, and a second sword was in her left hand, completely identical to the one in her right. Kasaitenba stopped in front of her, and it was stomping its hooves on the ground hard, as if eager to defeat the hollow. The flames from the hooves did not burn the ground at all, they just surrounded the pegasus.

It looked at Karin expectantly with glowing, yellow eyes, and jerked its head back. Karin walked over to the pegasus, and stroked its mane with the back of her hand, as she was still holding her swords. When she put her hand down, Kasaitenba moved its head toward Karin's arms, and lightly touched its nose to the sleeves of her shinigami outfit. A small flame caught, and the sleeves burned completely up, and stopped at the shoulders, leaving her arms bare. Karin looked at them, then looked back at the pegasus.

"Thank you," she said with a smile. "They were getting in the way."

'**I know. I could feel it. Plus, you've never been a conformist anyway,'** Kasaitenba said to her. '**Now, come get on my back, and let's save her.'**

"Yeah, you're right," she said aloud. She jumped on Kasaitenba's back, in between its wings and neck. "Let's go!" she shouted and pointed her left sword forward. Kasaitenba flapped its wings and ran a few steps before taking flight, heading straight for the hollow.

'_Alright, when we get close enough, I'm going to jump off and kill the hollow, and you fly back and catch Yuzu when it drops her,' _Karin thought.

'**I'll do it,'** Kasaitenba replied. They got in front of the hollow, and Karin got up, and jumped of as soon as she had the perfect angle. As she was in midair, she focused her reiatsu in her swords, causing the blades to burst into flames. She held both swords in front of her and sliced diagonally, burning an 'x' into the hollow's mask. It screamed in pain, and started to disintegrate as Karin landed on the ground. She held the swords together in front of her, and applied a little pressure, leaking a little reiatsu in as well. They merged back into a single sword that Karin held in her right hand. The hollow's arm disappeared, and Yuzu was falling toward the ground, but Kasaitenba got under her and caught her. It flew down closer to the ground, hovered for a second, then landed beside Karin. Karin got Yuzu off Kasaitenba's back, and laid her on the ground. The hollow disappeared, and the other shinigami came rushing over to check on the twins. Karin turned toward Kasaitenba, reaching out her hand to stroke its face and neck.

'_Thank you for helping me save my sister,' _Karin thought, talking to the pegasus with her thoughts.

'**You're welcome,'** Kasaitenba said. '**We'll talk more when you wake up.' **And with that, the flames blew away with the breeze, and Kasaitenba disappeared. The shinigami stared in shock for a moment, before Rukia leant down to examine Yuzu, and started to perform a healing kido.

'_When I wake up?'_ Karin thought. She immediately felt extremely weak, dropping her zanpakuto before falling backwards, hitting the ground flat on her back.

"Karin!" a few voices shouted. The last thing she saw was a flash of orange and white before everything went black.

**Hey everyone! I'm so sorry for not updating this sooner, but finals are next week, so school's been rough. That said, as soon as i can i'll update this, whether it be during finals week or not. lol Well, as always, read and review! Tell me what ya think!**

**Until next time,**

**sirensong**


	5. Chapter 5- Questions

**Hey everyone! I hope everybody's had a great Christmas this year. I'm so sorry for not updating this sooner, but I've had so much to do lately. But now I'm back on the wagon with this story, so to speak. Lol. Just to clarify, Kasaitenba's (Karin's zanpakuto) voice and thoughts will be in bold, unless specified beforehand. Anyway, on with the story!**

Chapter 5- Questions

'**Karin,'** a voice in her head rang out. '**Karin!'**

Karin began to see something other than the blackness that had enveloped her mind. She began to see the sunny, green rolling hills of her inner world. She looked down and realized that she was no longer wearing the shihakusho, the typical shinigami uniform, but a t-shirt and shorts. The outline of the lake could be seen from her position on top of the hill she was standing on, so she decided she should head that way. Once she was at the edge of the lake, she sat down, stretching her legs out toward the water.

'**About time you woke up,' **Kasaitenba said to her. Karin looked around upon hearing the voice, and saw the pegasus make its way to the area beside her. It laid down a few feet from Karin, and spread its wings out on the grass. The flames emitting from the pegasus did not burn the ground, but was controlled by Kasaitenba.

"_So why am I here_?" Karin asked. "_Shouldn't I be awake in the real world instead_?"

'**Technically yes, but for some reason you're here. I think it's because you had something to talk to me about,'** Kasaitenba said thoughtfully.

"_I did_?" She asked her zanpakuto's spirit. Karin thought for a few seconds, trying to remember what it was she wanted to ask. "_Oh, now I remember_!" she suddenly shouted.

'**Well, are you gonna ask sometime before I'm old?**' Kasaitenba said sarcastically, snorting at the end. It pawed the ground with the front left hoof and shook its head, gestures that signaled its impatience. Karin simply rolled her eyes.

"_Well, I know the reason I wasn't burned when I rode you, obviously, but why didn't Yuzu get burned when you caught her?"_ she asked. "_I thought that every zanpakuto affected every other shinigami and human except its master_?"

'**Normally that's true**,' Kasaitenba said. '**But since Yuzu is your sister, and you didn't want her to get burned, she didn't. She only felt a fraction of the warmth from my flames.'**

"_Yeah, that makes sense. I guess I just wasn't thinking about it when I was fighting,_" Karin said.

"**Obviously**," her zanpakuto replied. '**If that's all you wanna say, then you need to go. There are people waiting for you, ya know.**"

"_Go_?" Karin asked curiously. Before she got a reply, however, everything was starting to go black once more, and she found she could do nothing to stop it. The last thing she saw was glowing, yellow eyes that looked almost teasing, as if they knew something she didn't.

* * *

Karin opened her eyes slowly, as there was a bright light shining over her face. Once her eyes adjusted, she lifted her head and looked around the room. She discovered that she was in her room, and that she was wearing the same outfit that she had on while talking to Kasaitenba. She also came to realize she was not alone, for there sitting beside her bed was Toshiro. His head was resting on his arms, which were on her bed. He was asleep, as his eyes were closed and his breathing was even. She looked at him curiously.

'_Why is he here?'_ Karin thought. '_Wait, did he fall asleep watching over me? Was he really that worried about me?'_ That thought seemed strange to Karin. How could Toshiro worry that much about her? They don't really know the other all that well, and had only seen each other twice. She didn't have much time to ponder this, however, because Toshiro started to stir. He shook his head and blinked his eyes a few times before he looked over at Karin, sleep still clouding his vision.

"Hey," Karin said, smiling slightly at his half-asleep face. A look of recognition passed through his eyes, and he seemed to remember where he was, because he lifted fully off of her bed. He rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, trying to get it back to normal.

"Sorry for falling asleep on your bed. I was watching over you to make sure you were alright. I must've dozed off by accident," Toshiro said. He looked at her with an apologetic look on his face.

"Don't worry about it. It's no big deal," Karin replied. "It's not like I care. Besides, you probably got sleepy while watching me sleep. How long was I out anyway?"

"Only a few hours. Ichigo and the others were in here earlier, but they all went to eat somewhere or other. I wasn't hungry so I stayed behind," he said. "Not to mention your father wanted someone watching over you."

"Yeah, sounds about right," Karin said with a smirk. She stretched her arms out in front of her, and turned so her feet were hanging over the edge of the bed. She got out of her bed and walked a few steps inside her room to stretch her legs. Toshiro watched her intently to make sure that she truly was alright. Unbeknownst to him, Karin noticed him watching her.

"I'm fine, really, Toshiro," Karin said, turning back toward him and giving him a smirk. "You don't have to watch out for me anymore."

Toshiro's eyes widened, and he had a sheepish look on his face. He was a little embarrassed that he got caught. Suddenly, both of their stomachs growled simultaneously. They exchanged glances, and started to laugh. Toshiro hadn't laughed in a long time, and he realized that it did feel good to laugh again.

"So much for you not being hungry," Karin said in a sarcastic tone. She gave him a smirk, and after a moment he returned it. "Come on, let's see if there's anything to eat in the kitchen." She opened the door to her and Yuzu's room, and motioned for him to follow. He stood from the chair he was sitting in and made his way out of the door as well. They soon reached the stairs, and were almost down until Karin lost her footing on the second-to-last step. She lurched forward and thought she would fall until she felt a hand grab her wrist. The next thing she felt was the hand pull her backwards until she was on her feet again. She turned back to look at Toshiro, who was smirking at her.

"So much for not having to watch out for you," he said in a sarcastic but playful tone. She just stuck her tongue out at him in response.

They finished the few remaining stairs and went into the kitchen. Toshiro stood off to the side since he didn't know where anything was while Karin looked in the cabinets. She looked in every cabinet before turning back to him.

"Well, looks like all we have is ramen. Is that okay?" Karin asked him.

"That's fine," Toshiro replied. Karin began to prepare it, and Toshiro left the kitchen, and walked upstairs.

"Where are you goin? It's gonna be ready in a minute," Karin stated. Toshiro turned back to look at her.

"I have to go get something. I'll be right back," he said. She nodded, and he disappeared up the stairs. Karin stirred the ramen and discovered it was ready, so she poured it out of the pot into two bowls. She got two spoons out, and put one in each bowl. She was about to tell Toshiro it was ready, but he was already standing beside her.

"Good timing," Karin said. "Here's yours." She handed him a bowl and a glass of tea. She didn't have to prepare the tea; it was already in the refrigerator.

"Thanks," Toshiro said. He went to sit down at the dining room table, and she followed him. He sat on one side, and she sat across from him.

"So, what'd you have to go get?" Karin asked while taking a bite. Toshiro took the spoon out of his mouth and looked at her. Instead of a verbal reply, he cocked his head toward the couch. Her gaze followed the direction his head moved, and she saw her zanpakuto laying on the couch, along with a black sheath. She put the spoon she was holding in the bowl, scooted her chair backwards, and walked to the couch. She picked up the sword and sheath, and walked back to the table, setting both items on the top beside her bowl. She sat back down and resumed eating.

"Thanks for getting it for me. I remember dropping it before I blacked out," Karin said.

"It wasn't a big deal. Since your brother carried you back home, I figured it was the least I could do," Toshiro said in between bites. Karin looked to her zanpakuto, which had changed back to the appearance of a normal katana in its unreleased state.

"Can I ask you something?" she said while looking at him. He looked up momentarily, and he gave her a serious expression to show he wouldn't laugh at whatever she had to say.

"Of course," he replied in an honest voice.

"Since I'm new to the whole zanpakuto thing, I'm not exactly sure about some things. For one, when did my zanpakuto go back to its unreleased state? Was it when I dropped it?" she asked with curiosity.

"No, some shinigami end up dropping their swords during battle, but their zanpakutos don't lose power because of it. The reason your zanpakuto returned to its unreleased state is because you drained all of your energy so quickly. When a shinigami performs shikai for the first time, they usually drain their energy so fast that they pass out. That's why you did as well."

"Oh, that makes sense. So will that happen again?"

"It shouldn't, especially if you train and talk to your zanpakuto before you release it again."

"Yeah, I get it," she said. She finished what was left of her ramen, and went to go put the bowl in the sink, Toshiro not far behind her. Once their bowls were in the sink, she turned her head to look at him.

"So why is it still here? I thought zanpakutos only appeared when you're in spirit form. Shouldn't it have went away when I passed out?"

"Normally yes, but my guess is since you're still human it remained with you for now. I'm sure when we take you to the Soul Society for the first time it will only appear when you are out of your body," he said thoughtfully, putting a hand to his chin while he was speaking. Karin had a shocked look on her face.

"When I go to Soul Society?" she asked in both shock and disbelief.

"Yes. Like your brother, you're going to have to go at some point. But don't worry so much. It's not like you'll be going by yourself. We'll all be going with you," Toshiro said in a playful tone.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Karin said. She gave him a smirk. "So, you wanna go train until they get back?"

"Sure, why not?" Toshiro shrugged. Karin grabbed her zanpakuto and its sheath off the table and walked toward the door. Toshiro made his way to follow behind her. Karin was about to open the door when suddenly it burst open to reveal Ichigo, Yuzu, and the other shinigami. Toshiro and Karin had to take a few steps back so they could let them in.

"Hey taicho! We're back!" Rangiku said joyfully.

"I can see that, Rangiku," Toshiro said sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You don't have to be so mean, you know," Rangiku said, trying to sound hurt. She looked to her captain, but then noticed that Karin was beside him. She got a perverted look on her face. "Where were you two going, huh?"

Toshiro and Karin looked at each other, a hint of a blush on both of their faces. They immediately looked away. Karin seemed to recover first, because she held up her sword and pointed to it.

"We were going to train, obviously," Karin said. Ichigo, who was standing off to the side, raised an eyebrow at this.

"You were going to train at this hour?" Ichigo said.

"What do you mean Ichi-nii? It's not even that late," she said to her brother.

"I mean that we have to go back to Soul Society earlier than we planned. While we were out, Shuhei found us and told us that since we know who was fighting the hollows, we had to bring them back to talk to the suitaicho," Ichigo stated in an even tone. "So that means you have to come with us when we leave tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll go. So when do we leave?" Karin asked.

"Since there are a lot of things that need to be done when we get back, we'll leave about 9:00," Rukia replied before Ichigo could. "And even though we typically just wear shihakushos, you should probably bring some of your clothes just in case." Karin nodded her reply to the older woman.

"Well if we have to leave that early, then we need to get to bed now so I can get my beauty sleep," Yumichika said suddenly. Ikkaku, who was standing beside him, looked unsurprised.

"I'm agreeing with Yumichika on this one," Rangiku said. "Today's been a busy day, and tomorrow will be even worse. I'm going to bed. Good night everybody." She walked up the stairs, Yumichika, Renji, Ikkaku, Ichigo, and Rukia immediately following her. Toshiro was already on the couch, and Yuzu was making sure all the lights were off. Karin and Yuzu made their way over to the back of the couch.

"Good night Toshiro," the twins said at the same time. He looked up to them, nodding at Yuzu and Karin; smirking at the older twin as well.

"Good night," he said calmly. Yuzu began to go upstairs, leaving Karin and Toshiro alone once again. She gazed down into his teal eyes.

"Thank you for answering my questions," she said honestly.

"Of course," he replied, his teal eyes gazing into her dark gray irises that looked black in the darkness.

"Well, I guess I'll let you sleep. See you in the morning," she said, returning the smirk he gave her earlier. He closed his eyes and nodded his reply to her before she walked toward the stairs. As she was ascending, only one thought crossed her mind.

'_Why do I like the way that sounds so much?'_ she thought. Of course, unbeknownst to her, the only other occupant of the room was thinking the exact same thing.

**Hey everybody! I apologize again for the late update, but now I'm going to update this faster, that's for sure. Anyway, even though not much happens in this chapter, it had a hitsukarin moment at least! Next chapter it'll take off, I promise! I hope everyone has a happy New Years'! **

**Until next time,**

**sirensong **


	6. Chapter 6- Morning Surprises

**Hey guys, I'm finally back! I know you guys don't want to hear my lame excuses for not updating this quicker. Heck, just thinking about them makes me want to kick myself. Lol. In case you didn't know, I don't own Bleach. Anyways, on with the story! **

Chapter 6- Morning Surprises

The sun rose an hour ago, and Karin was wide awake. Usually on weekends she would sleep late, and so would Yuzu, but today was not an ordinary Saturday. Today, she would be accompanying Ichigo and the rest of the group when they left in an hour or so for the Soul Society.

'_I wonder why I woke up so early today,' _Karin thought. '_Maybe it's because I'm a little worried about what's gonna happen when I go?' _ She tried her best to go back to sleep, switching laying positions in her bed, tossing and turning, trying her hardest to get comfortable. She continued this for a few minutes, but to no avail. '_I might as well just give up. There's no way I'm falling back asleep now. Oh well, I guess I'll go for a walk before everybody wakes up.'_

With that thought in mind, Karin slowly sits up, stretching her arms out. She lets out a yawn, and lets her arms fall back to her sides. She gets out of bed fully and looks down, careful not to step on or wake up Rukia and Rangiku. Slowly tiptoeing to the door, she grabs her jacket off the desk before leaving the room. She slips on the jacket as she walks down the stairs. Once she reaches the bottom, she slips on her shoes that were beside the door. She looks around the living room once before opening the door and walking out.

Karin began walking, just enjoying the time to herself. Since most of the town was still asleep this early on the weekends, the streets and paths were silent. She didn't know where she was planning on going; she just walked wherever she felt like going. When she passed the soccer field where she first met the white-haired shinigami, she smiled to herself and continued on her way. She walked further down the road, which led to a hill that looked out over Karakura Town. She went there sometimes to sit and think, and to enjoy the view.

'_You know, now that I think about it, I started coming here after Toshiro left,' _Karin thought. '_I guess he affected me and I didn't even know it.'_ She continued walking up the hill, only a few steps away from the top. Once she reached the top, she was surprised that someone was here before her. She was a little far away to see the person's face clearly, but when she saw the familiar white hair moving in the breeze, she knew exactly who it was.

'_Speak of the devil,'_ Karin thought. She observed Toshiro carefully, and he appeared to be deep in thought over something, as his shoulders were hunched over and he hadn't heard her approach. If he had heard her coming, he would've turned around, of that Karin was absolutely sure. He was sitting on the guard rail like he was the last time he was there.

'_Hmm, he looks too serious. I think I know just what to do.' _She smirked to herself, and began to walk as quietly as she could toward him. She looked at him to see if he'd noticed her yet, but since he was in the same position, she figured he hadn't. She was almost there, and she walked the remaining steps until she was a few inches from his back. '_Well, here goes.'_ She reached up and trailed her fingers over his exposed neck lightly, as if her hand was a feather. He didn't react much to it, but he did close his eyes at the contact.

'_He must think it's the wind blowing his hair across his neck. Ha ha,' _Karin thought. She continued running her fingers across his skin, slowly trailing them up his jaw line. She leaned her head toward his, her mouth next to his ear.

"Hey Toshiro!" she half-shouted. At hearing the voice, Toshiro jumped about three feet in the air in surprise. He abruptly turned around, seeing who it was that scared him.

"Karin, what are you doing here this early?" Toshiro asked in a surprised tone.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep so I just took a walk and ended up here. I thought it would be funny to see you get scared, and I was right," she said with a smirk. Toshiro narrowed his eyes at her.

"I was not scared," he told her in a serious voice, though the slight blush on his cheeks gave him away. Karin only laughed at his attempt to cover up his folly.

"Sure, whatever you say," she said, stepping over the guard rail to sit beside him.

"Seriously, you should be more careful walking around by yourself. You know that hollows come after high reiatsu like yours." He gave her a serious look to emphasize his point. She saw his look, and instead of looking sheepish at her mistake, she only shrugged.

"Yeah, yeah," she said sarcastically. "I can fight them off." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. Toshiro looked over her once before he noticed something.

"Really now? And what, by chance, were you going to fight them with? You didn't bring your zanpakuto or anything resembling a weapon with you," he said. She looked around herself for her sword, to prove him wrong, but it was nowhere to be found. Her face fell instantly, and he only smirked at her.

"Well crap," she said. "I guess you're right, but just this once."

"Sure," he said. They stopped talking after that, just enjoying the view and each other's company. They lost track of exactly how much time they sat there, but eventually Toshiro turned back to Karin.

"We should get going. The others are probably awake by now and wondering where we are. Plus, you need to get ready to leave," he said seriously. Karin nodded.

"Yeah, alright," she said. He stood, threw one leg over the guard rail, and stepped over it easily. Once he was on the other side of it, he turned around to face Karin again. He looked at her for a moment before putting his hand out to help her over. She accepted his hand, and she felt that jolt again when her hand touched his. She stepped over the rail, and she let go of his hand once her feet were safely on the ground.

"Thanks," she told him. She looked at his face to see if maybe he had felt the jolt as well, or if it was just her imagination. His facial expression was normal, so she thought she was feeling things that weren't there. When he looked into her eyes, however, she saw a flash of something that normally wasn't there. Before she got a chance to try to discern what it was, he turned away and looked down the road.

'_Huh, I guess I won't find out anytime soon. Oh well,'_ Karin thought. She began to walk down the hill, and Toshiro began to follow her. Once he caught up to her, he matched his strides to hers so he could walk beside her. Soon enough, they reached the bottom of the hill and were on the edge of town. As they were walking, they could see that more people were starting to get out and about.

Suddenly, Toshiro heard a car coming behind them. He quickly looked to see if there was a sidewalk so they could get off the road. When he saw it, he reached out and put both hands on Karin's shoulders to guide her over there, since it didn't appear that she noticed the car coming. She turned her head and gave him a questioning look, raising an eyebrow. When she turned her head, she couldn't see where she was walking, and before she or Toshiro knew what was happening, she was falling. He tried to catch her when he realized she was falling, but he was too late. She landed on the sidewalk with a thump.

"Ow," Karin said, rubbing one of her hands. Toshiro knelt down to check for any injuries.

"Are you alright?" Toshiro asked her, concern laced thickly in his tone. Karin looked up at him upon hearing his tone, and she nodded and smiled briefly.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I'm fine," she said. "My ankle hurts though."

"Which one?" he asked her seriously. She lifted her hand and pointed to the left one. "Let me look at it." She nods, and he moved his hand down to the underside of her lower left calf. He lifted her leg up until her ankle is directly in front of his eyes. He brings up his other hand and gently runs his fingers over it.

"Does that hurt?" he asked. He noticed it was beginning to swell and it was turning red.

"Yeah, but it's not that bad. I've had worse before," she said, and smirked at him to show him she wasn't worried. He took in her words, and not a moment later the hand that was being so gentle suddenly pressed down on it, hard.

"Ah!" Karin cried out. "What was that for?" Toshiro stopped putting pressure on it, and instead of pulling his hand away, he put it flat against her swollen ankle.

"I was seeing just how bad it really was, since I knew you wouldn't tell me how bad the pain really is," he stated calmly. "But I can lessen the pain and swelling until we return to your house."

"You can?" she asked skeptically. Instead of giving her an answer, he closed his eyes and became perfectly still. He remained like that for a few moments. Karin was about to ask him what he was doing, when she felt something cold on her skin. She looked down and saw where his hand was across her ankle, and realized that it did feel better.

"Toshiro?" she asked calmly. He didn't respond for a few seconds, just simply scrunched his eyelids together tighter before relaxing again.

'_Maybe he didn't hear me,' _Karin thought. '_I'll try again.'_ As soon as she was about to speak, however, he opened his glowing, teal eyes and gazed intensely into hers. '_Whoa. His eyes are so intense like that. They're already stunning, but when they glow, they're surreal.' _She continuously held his gaze, until she looked down to his lips, which were moving. '_Oh crap, I hope he didn't notice I spaced out.' _When his lips were still once more, she decided to speak again.

"What?" she asked.

"I asked you how your ankle feels," he replied in an even tone.

"Oh, it feels fine," Karin told him honestly.

"Good." As soon as he stopped speaking, Karin could feel the temperature of his hand returning to normal. Less than five seconds later she no longer felt any chill at all, and his hand was warm against her skin. She quickly looked into his eyes, and for a moment they glowed very dimly, but then he blinked and they were the normal, shining teal again.

"Thank you, Toshiro," she told him honestly.

"You're welcome, Karin," he said with sincerity. He took his hand off of her ankle and stood up. "But, until your ankle is properly healed, you shouldn't risk injuring it further by walking."

Karin gave him a questioning look. "Well how are we going to get to my house if I can't walk? There's really no other way around it." Toshiro looked at her for a moment before he decided to answer.

"There is one way that I know of, and I thought it was quite obvious," he said evenly. "Though, there is the matter of your comfort to consider as well. . ." He trailed off as he was lost in thought. At his last statement, Karin had an even more confused look on her face.

"What on earth are you-" was all Karin got to say before she was suddenly lifted in the air. When she stopped moving, she took a moment to figure out what had happened. She felt something move under her knee, and she looked down, only to discover it was his hand. It was then that she realized that his arm was across her back and his other hand was spread on her side. '_He's holding me!' _

"Do you understand now?" he asked her, giving her a smirk. She looked up to see his smirking face, and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I think I've got it," Karin replied sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, both irritated at his smirk and embarrassed for not realizing what he meant sooner. Toshiro only smirked wider upon seeing her face.

"We should get going. You might want to hold on to my neck," he told her, his expression returning back to his serious one. She hesitated for a second before reaching up her arms and clasped her hands together behind his neck.

"Alright, I'm ready now. Thanks, Toshiro," she said. "Even though I would have been fine on my own."

"Sure you would have," he said sarcastically. He began walking the rest of the way to her house. "It was my fault after all, so I was glad I could help you." She only smiled in return.

* * *

The first person that woke up in the Kurosaki Clinic was Yuzu. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, a yawn coming from her mouth. When she dropped her hands from her eyes, she got out of bed and woke Rukia and Rangiku, who each did the same actions that she did moments ago.

"Come on, I'll make you breakfast before you leave," Yuzu said. She headed for the door with Rukia right behind her. Rangiku was still getting up. Before leaving the room with Yuzu, Rukia turned her head in Rangiku's direction.

"Hey, Rangiku, could you go wake the guys up once you're done?" she said. Rangiku was still too tired to speak, so she only nodded to the smaller woman. Rukia nodded back and follwed Yuzu toward the kitchen. The two descended the stairs quietly, careful not to make too much noise, considering the guys were still asleep.

"Yuzu, you don't have to keep making us food," Rukia said as they walked into the kitchen. "We can always get something when we get back to the Soul Society. You don't have to go to the trouble of feeding all of us."

"I don't mind, really," Yuzu replied. "It makes me happy to cook for all of you." She continued to fix breakfast while Rukia was leaning against the counter beside her. Suddenly, both heard extremely loud laughter and heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. Yuzu and Rukia looked at each other questioningly before leaving the kitchen to see what was going on.

Rangiku was still laughing, holding her sides with both hands. She barely made her way to the couch before she fell onto it. Renji, Ichigo, Ikkaku, and Yumichika all came up behind the couch, the former three with angry expressions on their faces.

"What happened?" Yuzu and Rukia asked at the same time. Upon hearing their voices, Rangiku stopped laughing momentarily, looked over to them, and smiled.

"You won't believe what happened when I went to wake them up," she said. "I knocked on the door, but they didn't answer, so I turned the doorknob to see if it was unlocked. It was, so I opened the door and I see all of them asleep." She began to laugh again.

"What's so funny about that?" Rukia asked, curious as to why Rangiku began to laugh again.

"You don't need to know!" Ichigo suddenly shouted. Rukia raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Yes you do! So I went in there, and I saw Ichigo, Renji, and Ikkaku all cuddling together in their sleep with smiles on their faces. When I woke them up, they all looked at each other and screamed. Yumichika and I almost died of laughter," Rangiku said. She started to laugh again, this time Rukia, Yuzu, and Yumichika joined her.

"Shut up, all of you," Renji said, a slight bush on his face. "It was Ichigo's fault. He must've fallen off his bed during the night."

"My fault? How is it my fault?" Ichigo said, scowling once again.

It just is your fault!" Ikkaku said, crossing his arms over his chest. Before Ichigo could reply, Isshin walked into the room.

"Good morning my beautiful daughters," Isshin said, making his way over to Yuzu. He looked around the room to find Karin, but soon realized she was not there. "Where is Karin?"

"She wasn't in our room when we woke up," Rukia said.

"I hope nothing happened to her," Yuzu said with concern. As if in answer, the door burst open to reveal Karin and Toshiro, Karin still in his arms. The entire household had looks of shock on their faces, but Rangiku seemed to recover first.

"Taicho, what were you and Karin doing?" she asked in a perverted voice. Isshin recovered soon after Rangiku spoke, and swiftly made his way over to the two in the doorway.

"What on earth did you do to my poor little girl-" Isshin said, but was interrupted by Karin punching him in the face. Isshin fell backwards on the ground, unconscious. Karin put her outstretched arm back around Toshiro's neck to steady herself in his hold.

"Seriously Karin, what happened?" Ichigo asked, looking at Toshiro suspiciously. Karin rolled her eyes at her father and brother's antics.

"Calm down, Ichigo," Karin said. "I couldn't go back to sleep after I woke up early this morning, so I decided to go for a walk to clear my head. I ended up seeing Toshiro, and we hung out for a while before coming back here. On our way back, a car was coming and Toshiro guided me over to the sidewalk. I turned back to see why he did that, but when I did my foot got caught in a hole and I fell. He didn't want me to hurt my ankle any more than it already was, so he carried me." Toshiro nodded, as if to confirm her story.

"Kuchiki, please perform a healing kido on her ankle," Toshiro said while setting Karin down on the couch gently. Rukia immediately got to work on Karin's ankle.

"Oh, well thanks for taking care of her, Toshiro," Ichigo said.

"It was not a problem," Toshiro said in a serious tone. "And that's Hitsugaya-taicho to you, Kurosaki." He scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. He turned to look over at Rukia and Karin. Rukia was done with the healing kido, and was helping Karin stand up.

"How does that feel, Karin?" Rukia asked her. Karin put weight on her left ankle, testing it out for a moment. She looked to the small shinigami and smiled.

"It feels great. Thank you, Rukia," she said. Rukia nooded and returned her smile. Yuzu, who went into the kitchen to check on the food, reemerged with a smile.

"The food's ready. Everyone come get something to eat," she said with a smile. The group all followed her directions, leaving Isshin alone in the room, who lay forgotten on the floor.

**Okay, I want to apologize to all of you for this really, really late update. School has been rough for the past few weeks, but it should go back to normal again pretty soon. I hope you all can forgive me, and thank you for all the support for this story. Please tell me what you think! I would appreciate it very much! **

**Until next time, **

**sirensong **


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